How to Write a Literature Review in 30 Minutes or Less FIVE EASY STEPS Don’t let the name scare you. A “literature review” or “synthesis of literature” is simply a report. The purpose of this report is to organize for discussion the sources you have collected. The process for doing this is easy and consists of 5 simple steps. Click on each of the links below to follow the steps:  Step 1: Extract Summaries Step 2: Reorder Summaries Step 3: Divide Into Body Paragraphs Step 4: Shape the Paragraphs Step 5: Add Introduction & Conclusion